Legend of Zelda: Mirror of Twilight
by omniGamer101
Summary: [On hiatus] Drawn by the rumors of an urban legend, Link goes in search for the truth behind the recent disappearances. Set during modern times, Link is about to awaken a bond between the realm of light and dark that has been long since forgotten… and join with an ancient individual who somehow seems to know him.
1. Into Darkness

It was raining. The cold drops flicking off his green helmet as he rode his red motorbike down the wet cobblestone streets. The iron lampposts casting spots of orange glow along either side as he whizzed by. It was quiet out tonight, not a soul to be seen. That was good, it was going to make things easier.

He pulled over and checked the GPS on his phone again. It was close by. The bike's steady thrum died as he turned the ignition key and dropped the kickstand. His phone vibrated indicating an incoming call. He pulled off his helmet, revealing his short blond hair, and put the phone to his elf-like ear.

"Hey, Link. I don't think you should do this… It's just an urban legend, just let it go." But Link couldn't let it go. There was something more to it than mere superstition. It was like something was calling out to his very soul.

He grunted in response, as it was the best that his damaged vocal cords could do. His inability to speak had confounded hundreds of doctors that his late parents had taken him to, and he had long given up the hope of ever talking. He leaned up against his bike, his faded jeans covering up the black stenciled lettering 'Epona'.

"Listen. I'm serious. Something about all of this just gives me the creeps. How about we just say you saw it, and call it a– " Link hung up on Navid, whatever else he had to say it would be just more of the same.

The alley was dark, but with night upon him it came as no surprise. This section of the city was older, much older than anything else he had come across before. The chipped brickwork covering traces of a building that had stood there once before.

Link held out his phone first setting it to flashlight mode. He shielded the device from the rain with a hand and spun on his heels searching along the dead-end. It had been just as the legend mentioned. The crest of the Ancient Royal Family lay imprinted in a space left by fallen bricks. He was almost ecstatic now. Quickly he flipped to the media player on his phone and jacked the volume. From the scratchy speakers came a melody. Supposedly it was once used as a lullaby for a princess of forgotten royalty. When the song had finished he waited. Waited for something to happen. Anything to happen. _Please._ He put his hand up against the wall and closed his eyes. _PLEASE!_

"Hey you! What are you doing out this late?" The spotlights from the police car blared down on the back of his soaked green t-shirt. Link's heart sank. "It's way past curfew. Don't you realize people have gone missing?" The officer had gotten out of the vehicle and was walking toward him.

Each footstep brought Link back to the reality of his world. He was going to be taken back to his foster parents, more likely dragged back, and forced to explain what he was doing out so late at night. His foster mother would cry and thank the gods he was brought back safely, while his foster father would be talking to the officer and assuring that it wouldn't happen again. They would make it apparent through sloppy kisses and bone crushing hugs that he was loved, not that the large monthly grant they received from the government for raising a pure-blooded Hylian had anything to do with it. His foster parents would then ground him for a few weeks usually coinciding with the typical strict to-from-home-school schedule, claiming it was for his own good.

Lowering his phone from the gap, he turned around. The cop was almost upon him, but Link knew running would do him no good. He was too well known, especially among the government types. He had been prepared to go with the officer, but something about the way the man walked put him on edge. It was a lumbering sort of gait, the type that you would see in a bad 80s horror movie. With the white headlights blasting away what little night vision he had it was only until the officer was within arm's length could Link see his face. His eyes were dead, rolled up in his skull, with black lines trailing across his face and down his neck.

Unnerved by the sight, Link stepped back, his back pressing against the remains of the brick wall. The officer lurched forward, his arms outstretched. There was a gurgling sound emitting from the officer's mouth and as he opened it a rank odor wafted towards Link. From within the gaping maw of the officer something was worming its way out. It appeared as a large unblinking eye suspended by black twisted tendrils, which coiled and uncoiled as it made its way towards Link.

The sight disgusted him, and Link pushed up even further against the wall, attempting to put as much distance between him and the creature. The tendrils snaked forward, prodding the air like many dead fingers. Link looked away, squeezing his eyes shut hoping the thing would go away. But it didn't. With a clammy hand the officer wrenched Link's face to his. Even in this type of situation Link could say nothing. He wanted to scream, to shout for help, but nothing came out as more than a wheeze.

In desperation, his arms moved along the wall, looking for anything to use as a weapon beyond the small phone he had still clenched in his hand. His fingers brushed against the crest, and a burning sensation tingled up his left arm. In response to his touch, the ground trembled followed by a loud crack behind him that sent a dusting of brick dust over him and the encroaching creature.

Transparent arms of orange and green reached out from the crack grabbing Link's limbs and covering his mouth from the creature's tendrils. Displeased from the interruption the eyeball monster hissed and uttered a guttural screech as Link was dragged through the wall. The officer's arms clawed wildly at the spot Link had been moments earlier only to be stopped by some kind of barrier. The arms pulled him further away from both the monster and the light.

He was pulled into darkness.


	2. A Meeting in the Dark

Link was falling. Pulled downwards by hands that grasped his arms and legs. He struggled, but he had no strength against them. He was at the mercy of the limbs that held him. Down, down they went, the orange glow of the street lights and the surreal blue of the police officer's headlights long since disappeared. His blue eyes couldn't see anything. Link was in complete black.

His descent slowed, then finally ground to a halt. One by one the hands released him. He fell only a few feet but in the dark it was far enough that he wasn't able to land it well and ended up on his side. The phone he had been gripping so hard tumbled from his hand, its dim backdrop light the only source of light as far as he could see. He scrambled to recollect it before the screensaver kicked in and plunging him into full darkness. He cradled the device in his hands. _No signal._ Not that he figured there would be this far underground, or wherever he was.

He flipped the phone to flashlight mode and prayed to the gods that its dwindling battery would hold out just a little longer. He was definitely in a built over section of the old city, as he didn't recognize any of the craftsmanship. It was stone and it was old; that much he could make out from the crumbling architecture, not to mention the unusual heaviness of the air. Link looked up and no matter how high he held his phone he could not see a ceiling. The apparent lack of walls was also the same. The only indicator Link had of direction was a once highly decorated tile path, which lay fragmented from age and fallen stone.

More from curiosity than thought, Link followed the path. It led him further onward, with nary a hint of him getting any closer of finding a way out. The whole while he watched as his battery life depleted strangely fast. 30%. 20%. 10%. 5%. A large warning indicator flashed up on his phone telling him that he needed to get to a charger and fast. _I would if I could_. He could only think to himself. Finally, his phone died, and the only light with it. He slipped the spent phone back into his jean pocket.

How far did he walk in the dark? He wasn't even sure if he was heading in the right direction anymore. His hand started hurting again, and he clenched and unclenched it, in a subconscious hope that the pain would go away. But it didn't. If anything it got worse, and Link clutched it with his good hand. That's when he first noticed the glow. It was faint, almost unnoticeable, but it was still there. Link held up his hurting hand close to his face. A dim yellow light triangle shone from the back of his hand. He didn't know what it meant, or when or where he got it from.

It seemed to be guiding him, with both the pain and its glow growing stronger with each step he took. The pain grew to be almost unbearable and more than once, had the thought of turning back crossed Link's mind if just to relieve the pain. But, through gritted teeth, he persisted.

The air was even thicker now, giving the darkness a cloying thickness. It almost hurt to breathe.

Finally, Link could walk no farther. His knees buckled beneath him, and he had barely enough time to brace the impending impact with his arms. Bits of broken tile and gravel bit into the exposed flesh of his arms leaving long but shallow cuts. But his mind was currently preoccupied on other things.

It was like his heart had been grasped by some invisible force, each beat pushing against its unknown constraints. His bones were of liquid fire and Link curled into a tight ball to escape the pain. But there was no escape. To Link it was like even the air was trying to crush him. Faster and faster his heart beat, exceeding where he thought it would burst. The pulsating pain in his hand had grown agonizing and the light that shone from it too brilliant to even glance at. Then in one final pulse everything stopped. The pain, the light, and even his own heartbeat. Unable to hold onto consciousness, Link passed out.

* * *

><p>"Hmmmm? I didn't expect to be seeing that form again… Mind you, I didn't expect to be in this one either."<p>

Link slowly opened one eye, and then the other. His vision was hazy at first, but then again he was amazed he could see anything after being in the dark for so long. There was something else, and it took him a few seconds to realize it. His sense of smell had greatly improved. He could smell the composition of the earth, the faint smell of sweat from long dead workers and… something unknown, yet still somehow familiar.

He twisted his head in the direction of the voice he had heard earlier. Despite what he had seen earlier that night, he wasn't prepared for what he saw now. Floating several inches off of the ground was a small child-like creature. It, she was smiling at him, the most mischievous of grins on her pale face. A strange stone headdress adorned her head and partly shielded one of her brilliantly yellow and red eyes. "Why do you look so surprised? A few millennia, is hardly a long time." She swayed to some unfelt breeze and repositioned herself so that she appeared to be lying on her stomach, her green tattooed arms propping up her head.

She seemed to be expecting something from him. Some sort of reaction or response, but Link just didn't know her. The smile faded and was momentarily replaced with one of sadness. "Well, I suppose it has been a long time… a very long time by your human standards…" The smirk quickly returned. "Not that you're human anymore. Eeh eeh eeh."

_Not human anymore?_ _What was she talking about?_ With a heavy head, Link tried to stand, but found his coordination lacking, and even more than coordination he soon discovered his lack of both hands and feet. Instead he had paws. White furry paws. There was a startled yelp, and it took Link several moments to realize it came from his own mouth.

She watched with childish amusement as he took in the full extent of his new transformation. "Are you done? We have much more important things to worry about… Like them for instance."

He followed where her finger was pointing. Small spider-like creatures were creeping along the ground. A singular unblinking eye sat amid a tangle of black tendrils similar to the ones he had seen earlier.

"It would be best to run."

Link had no arguments. It took him only moments to find his feet… paws and bolt in the opposite direction alongside his impish companion.

The maddened clicking of the spider monsters quickened as they pursued the two in the dark. More than once Link thought he was going to fall, but his newly transformed body seemed used to the motions and guided him where he would have stumbled along the stone floor.

If not for the strange glow outlining his vision, Link was sure that he would be traveling blind. He didn't have words to describe it. The darkness was thick and blacker than anything he experienced before, yet instead of being frightened, Link was comforted by it. The glow covered everything within a large radius around Link, the brightest glow being the floating creature beside him.

_Midna_. The word popped into his head. He didn't know how or why, but Link knew it was her name. With the name came something else. Something that had remained long dormant until now. His gait slowed until he was no longer moving. A welling of determination filled his chest.

"What are you doing?" Midna had seen him stop. There was fear on her face.

Link barked and turned to face the coming crowd, his throat rumbling with a deep growl.

Midna was close to panicking now, her teeth clenched and her peculiar eyes wide. She pulled at his ears, but Link was determined. He was no longer defenseless. He had weapons – teeth and claw. _He could do it. He could fight them._

"There is a thin line between courage and foolhardiness." Midna now sat on his back, raising a hand to the blackness above them. A tear in the dark appeared above them, and in an instant they were pulled through it.


	3. Home Again

Once again, Link fell through blackness. Tumbling through an unseen space; to be deposited back into the darkened alleyway where this nightmare began.

His own hands went to his face. He felt his nose, his cheeks, his ears, even his rain soaked clothes. Everything was how he remembered it. _Had he fallen asleep? Had he been merely dreaming?_ Link was shaken regardless. He pulled himself up, standing on wobbly legs. Link steadied himself against a brick wall and walked back toward his unperturbed bike.

Link paused when he heard the sound of police sirens. A lump caught in his throat, but they faded away as quickly as they started. With a few twists of the silver key, his bike once again roared to life. He flipped up the kickstand, and only looked back momentarily at the alleyway. Hopefully leaving the nightmare behind.

The rain had stopped leaving behind a crisp clean smell in the once stagnant air of the Old District. The moon had emerged from behind the blanket of receding clouds, adding its silver glow to that of the orange street lights.

* * *

><p>Link cut the engine a block from his foster home. While his foster parents did not care about his midnight traipsing across town, they did care about being woken in the middle of the night. He dragged his bike the rest of the distance, his sneakers plodding through the puddles along the gutter.<p>

His thoughts traveled back to the alleyway, the policeman, and the impish woman he had met in the dark. It seemed like it was miles away, despite the alley being less than an hour ride from home.

As he walked up the driveway Link was greeted by neighborhood cat, Tingle. Its piercing golden eyes watched him as he raised the resistant garage door so he could park his bike inside. Tingle let out his peculiar yowl, which was a strange sound somewhere between an 'Ooompa' and a meow.

He tucked the bike behind the tin garbage pails and pulled the garage door closed again, briefly ignoring the cat's call for attention. Tingle circled his legs refusing to be scorned for long, and Link relented and bent to scratch the calico between the ears.

He climbed the ladder to the roof beside his open bedroom window, and took off his shoes before climbing inside.

Everything was how he left it. A mess. No hidden monsters or creepy-crawlies; just clothes and piled dishes. He peeled off his wet clingy shirt and replaced it with a drier once, albeit not much cleaner. Link changed his pants in a similar manner, leaving the soaking pair to dry across the back of his desk chair. His dead phone he left to recharge on its charger.

He flopped down onto the mattress and pile of blankets that made up his bed and promptly fell asleep, leaving the madness of earlier, hopefully long behind him.

* * *

><p>Link awoke to the sounds of cleaning and breakfast. Today was the yearly visit from social services to see if Link was being 'well-cared-for'.<p>

The familiar wail came from downstairs. "Link! I hope you're here! Your caseworker is coming today, so make yourself presentable… Link, you listening?!"

Link made a groggy grab for the air-horn lying absent mindedly on the floor. It made him feel strange having to use it, but it beat having to run downstairs every time they wanted an answer for something. _Two presses for no, one for yes._ It was loud and even though he had buried his head between his pillow and the mattress when he finally pressed the button, he could swear it was slowly making him deaf.

His foster mother seemed satisfied with the response, as no more yelling was directed his way. By the frantic sounds coming from downstairs, he figured that he had less than an half an hour to get ready, and he knew they expected him to be somewhat decent.

He checked the window, and saw that they had taken down the ladder for him. Link staggered to the second floor bathroom that was adjacent to his room, and flicked on the florescent fixture. It flickered to life then gasped its last, shorting out with a fizz. He shrugged knowing that he was the only one who used this bathroom and as a result wouldn't have the light fixed until much later – a combination of his own laziness and lack of a replacement bulb.

Something in the large mirror hanging over the white sink caught his eye, and it wasn't his arm reaching for his toothbrush. It was black. _A hand? _It traced, unfelt, up his neck, the fingers trailing slowly along his jaw. Link flinched away from its touch.

Link's eyes tracked the hand retreat behind him, but there was nothing there. "It's about time you woke up." He heard the indignant voice, but he still could not see anything. His gaze returned to the mirror. Startling yellow and red eyes stared back at him, their position just above his left shoulder. Link jumped back, banging his elbow into the towel rod behind him.

Midna held a silent chuckle as Link held his arm. He flexed the fingers to try and ease the pain that throbbed through his arm.

"Such different clothes…" Midna floated effortless through the air, only her reflection revealed her form inspecting his t-shirt and worn blue-jeans.

"LIIIINK!" This time it was his foster father howling up the stairs. Link quickly rinsed his mouth and smoothed down his unruly hair before heading to the stairs. He tried not to glance back at the floating imp reflected the mirror.

* * *

><p>When Link joined his foster parents in the front foyer, he earned a disapproving stare from his foster father over his slept-in Indigo-go's concert t-shirt. Link shrugged and turned his attention towards the front door, waiting for the inevitable doorbell.<p>

It rang precisely on the hour. His foster father half jumping at the sound, rushed to reach the door. "Ah, welcome you must be Ms. Impa." He said, his hands nervously entwining around each other as if he had been caught with something red-handed.

"Yes." Her tone was crisp and to-the-point. Impa was tall for a Hylian easily and she easily dwarfed his human foster father. Her figure was well toned, muscle pulling ever so slightly against the confines of her white dress-shirt and black pencil skirt. She had peculiar white hair for her young face, but her red eyes were even more striking. They seemed to stare right through him. "You must be Link." Her eyes traveled up and down his body, lingering briefly on his left hand. Link subconsciously hid his hand, earning himself a small smirk from Impa.

"Ms. Impa, I must apologize. The boy's been mute since a babe…" said his foster mother.

"I've read as much in his file." Impa turned away from his foster mother, her eye catching something unseen behind Link. The corner of her lip twitched, though whether that had been a good sign or not was beyond Link. "I do assume that he has methods so that he can communicate on his own."

The tone of Impa's voice made Link bristle slightly, but he nodded despite himself. "Good." She said. "Then shall we go for a walk?"


End file.
